February 12, 2012

Capitol Chandelier Repairs Begin

Workers will move in to the Capitol rotunda tomorrow and start taking apart a two-ton light fixture that fell to the rotunda floor a couple of weeks ago. . The big chandelier fell about five feet, about three-days before it was to be hoisted 150-feet back up into the top of the rotunda. It had been lowered for cleaning and installation of a new cable. The reason it fell is still under discussion. For several says there were fears the marble floor and the inlaid state seal underneat the chandelier had been damaged. But a check under protective plywood laid on the floor while the chandelier was down shows no damage to the floor or to the seal. And historical consultant Tom Sater says there’s other good news. He says the damage is not a bad as first fear; that it is structurally intact and not deformed. But he says the damaged bronze can be welded and refinished. He says the state is “very, very fortunate” By the end of the week, the chandelier will have been trucked to St. Louis, to the only company in the midwest capable of handling a repair job this big. Sater says the repairs also will provide a chance to install new, more efficient, brighter lamps so people can better enjoy the mural int he eye of the dome when the chandelier goes back up. He does not expect it to be back, though, for at least six months.

MODOT Says Multi-Modal Transportation is Underfunded

Construction on roads throughout the state is underway as part of the Smooth Roads Initiative… and the state Transportation Department says bridges are next with the Safe and Sound Bridge Plan. But, Director Pete Rahn says the state’s not capitalizing on other modes of transportation such as rails, barges and ports and inner city transportation, because there’s no funding. Under Amendment Three, only 2 percent of one half of vehicle sales tax can be used for multi-modal transportation. That’s why Rahn says the department will continue to push for a sales tax on construction materials. He says that tax would generate about 75 million dollars for multi-modal transportation.